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City of Springfield v. Gee11/30/2004
In this case of first impression, we must decide whether the trial court properly entered summary judgments against the City of Springfield, Missouri ("the City") in two civil actions seeking forfeiture of motor vehicles pursuant to an ordinance enacted by the City after the passage of § 82.1000. [FN1] The trial court dismissed the forfeiture actions with prejudice because, in each instance, the City failed to prove that the vehicle's operator was convicted of a felony on a charge substantially related to the forfeiture as required by § 513.617.1. On appeal, the City contends that § 82.1000 is the controlling statute, and it does not require proof of any conviction before a judgment of forfeiture can be entered. Because the legal issue presented by the two cases is the same and all of the respondents are represented by the same attorney, we have consolidated the City's two appeals in order to address the City's arguments in one opinion. The facts in each case, which are quite similar, are set out below.
I. City v. Johnnie Spence and Katherine Williams
On August 3, 2001, Johnnie Spence ("Spence") was operating a 1984 Mercedes on McDaniel Street in Springfield, Missouri. The Mercedes was co-owned by Spence and Katherine Williams ("Williams"). At the intersection of Main and Mt. Vernon streets, a Springfield police officer observed Spence make a left turn without signaling and initiated a traffic stop. The officer smelled a strong odor of intoxicants on Spence's breath. Spence failed the gaze nystagmus, one-leg stand, and walk and turn field sobriety tests, and he refused to supply a breath sample to determine his blood alcohol content. Spence did not have a valid operator's license because his license had been revoked on July 23, 1999 and he was not eligible for reinstatement until December 21, 2009. Spence also had numerous prior convictions for driving while intoxicated. [FN2] He was issued tickets for driving while intoxicated, driving while revoked, and failure to use his turn signal. The officer placed a hold for "D.W.I. forfeiture" on the Mercedes and had it towed to an impoundment lot.
On August 10, 2001, the City filed a petition for forfeiture in the Circuit Court of Greene County, Missouri, based on Sec. 106-207 of the City Code. The City sought forfeiture of the Mercedes pursuant to this ordinance because: (1) the vehicle had been operated within the City by Spence; (2) he had one or more intoxication-related traffic offenses, as defined by § 577.023; and (3) he was operating the Mercedes while his license was revoked. Motions for summary judgment were filed by defendants Spence and Williams, as well as the City. In March 2002, Spence and Williams filed a motion for a stay of proceedings pursuant to § 513.617. The trial court granted the motion and stayed the case. In March 2003, the City filed a motion to lift the stay based on the undisputed fact that Spence had pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge of driving while intoxicated in the Associate Division of the Circuit Court of Greene County, Missouri.
II. City v. Vincent Gee and Peggy Gee
*2 On February 3, 2003, a Springfield police officer observed Vincent Gee ("Gee") driving a 1992 Toyota pickup the wrong way on Jefferson Avenue, a one-way street in Springfield, Missouri. [FN3] The Toyota was co-owned by Gee and his wife, Peggy. The officer noticed that Gee's eyes were bloodshot and watery, his speech was slurred and confused, and he moved in slow, deliberate movements. Gee was unable to perform the walk and turn test, and he refused to attempt the one-leg stand test. He also refused to give a breath sample so his blood alcohol content could be determined. After running a check through the Missouri Uniform Law Enforcement System ("MULES"), the officer determine
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